The US Air Force unveiled its new B-21 Raider stealth bomber,Washington designated four militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan as "terrorists,"US-backed forces in Syria suspended their anti-IS operations,and IS acknowledged the death of its Iraqi leader.Meanwhile, Beijing said that a US ship "illegally intruded" in the South China Sea,the Pentagon estimated that China will quadruple its nuclear warheads by 2035,a US official claimed that China poses an increasing military space threat,and South Korea scrambled jets as Chinese and Russian warplanes entered its air defense zone.Elsewhere, the leader of Myanmar's shadow government claimed that 2K fighters have died while confronting the military junta,four were killed in Pakistan after a suicide bomb targeted a polio campaign team,at least 14 were killed in an al-Shabab hotel siege in Somalia,a blast killed at least 15 in northern Afghanistan,four Palestinians were killed in the West Bank,and the Democratic Republic of Congo accused M23 rebels of killing 50 civilians.

In a show of solidarity with Ukraine, the week began with a visit to Kyiv from foreign ministers of Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden on Monday.This theme continued on Wednesday, as European Commission Pres. Ursula von der Leyen proposed setting up a special court to investigate claims of Russian war crimes and using frozen Russian assets to pay for damages in Ukraine.Meanwhile, the US accused Russia of using winter as a weapon of war, referencing ongoing attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure, which have reportedly damaged nearly 30% of its power grid.Washington later announced a $53M aid package to address Kyiv's energy crisis,as Pres. Biden said on Thursday that he's prepared to speak with Russia's Putin if it means ending the war - a remark welcomed by Moscow, which reiterated its openness to negotiations if certain conditions are met.Amid the energy concerns, G7 nations and Australia joined the EU in an agreement to cap Russian oil exports at $60 per barrel on Friday, a decision Moscow called "dangerous."Meanwhile, several site across Spain, including the US and Ukraine embassies in Madrid, were reportedly targeted with letter bombs on Wednesday and Thursday.Some speculate the packages were linked to Russia, despite the Kremlin's public condemnation.

India assumed its G20 presidency for 2023,the UN launched an appeal for a record $51B in aid for next year,the US said it will allow Chevron to pump oil in Venezuela,and Washington and its allies levied new sanctions against top North Korean officials.Meanwhile, more than 80 were hurt in protests over a port project in India,as the "march to unite India" reached its halfway mark,Bulgarians protested the reinstatement of paper election ballots,Iran's Attorney General announced that the "Morality Police" will be disbanded, following Tehran's escalation in its crackdown against demonstratorsand rejection of a UN investigation into the protests,and China tightened its security amid widespread COVID protests,but later eased its pandemic restrictions.In other news, Israel's Netanyahu reached a coalition deal with the right-wing Religious Zionism party,Pakistan's Taliban ended its truce with the government,former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin died at 96,British PM Rishi Sunak said the "golden era" with China is over,the Australian government announced plans to censure the former PM,and a South African panel claimed that Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa may have violated the constitution.

House Democrats elected Hakeem Jeffries to succeed speaker Nancy Pelosi,Elon Musk said he'll back Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' 2024 presidential run,the Georgia runoff set a record single-day voter turnout,and Republicans in Arizona County delayed the certification of the 2022 election,which was later certified following a judge's order.Meanwhile, SCOTUS announced plans to hear arguments over the Biden Administration's enforcement of immigration guidelines,former Pres. Donald Trump was criticized for meeting with far-right commentator Nick Fuentes,the US House committee received Trump's tax returns,an appeals court gave the Dept. of Justice access to the Mar-a-Lago documents,and the Oath Keepers' founder was convicted of seditious conspiracy.

New York City said it would involuntarily hospitalize the mentally ill,the CDC's director came under fire for a tweet about the Tuskegee Syphilis study,and the US Senate passed a bill protecting same-sex marriageand approved legislation to halt an anticipated rail strike.Meanwhile, Twitter ended its COVID misinformation policy,and the EU reportedly threatened to ban the social media platform over its content moderation.Elsewhere, Singapore tightened its rules on death row inmates' ability to file last-minute appeals,and a Hong Kong protester who was shot by police in 2019 was jailed for six years.

The Buffalo mass shooter pleaded guilty to murder,Belgium began its largest-ever trial over a 2016 bombing,and police busted a cocaine "super-cartel" in Dubai and Europe.Meanwhile, several newsgroups urged the US to drop its prosecution of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange,the former boss of bankrupted crypto exchange FTX denied any intent to commit fraud,and a US House subcommittee ruled that Fintechs committed Paycheck Protection Program fraud.In other news, San Francisco police were authorized to use lethal robots.

In the US, the federal government announced plans to back mortgages for $1M homes,Fed chair Jerome Powell hinted at easing rate hikes,the economy added 263k jobs in November,and crypto company BlockFi filed for bankruptcy.Elsewhere, eurozone inflation dropped for the first time since 2021,and Qatar inked a 15-year gas deal with Germany.

A study found that an Alzheimer's drug slows cognitive decline but may have serious side effects,the US saw an uptick in RSV cases,the World Health Organization renamed monkeypox to "mpox,"Elon Musk announced that his Neuralink would be ready for human testing in the next six months.and scientists discovered a 48,500-year-old "zombie virus" in Siberian permafrost.

Musk said that a Twitter feud with Apple is "resolved,"Pfizer announced plans to invest $2.5B to expand manufacturing in Europe,and an ongoing infant formula shortage is expected to continue until the spring.

Italian prosecutors called for the board of football club Juventus to face trial,college football's Big Ten Conference fined Michigan State $100K for a post-game scuffle in October,several ad agencies were raided in the Tokyo Olympic bid-rigging probe,and Qatar said that up to 500 migrant workers died in preparation for the World Cup,which this week saw the US knock Iran out in a game overshadowed by political tensions.

Physicists simulated a "baby wormhole" in a lab,and the French baguette earned a spot on UNESCO's "intangible cultural heritage" list..